Rush Limbaugh may take a lot of heat for the influence he wields in the Republican party, but the conservative radio host says that’s not exactly true anymore.
For years members of the Democratic party have knocked their Republican counterparts for being beholden to right-wing media pundits. They claim that personalities like Rush Limbaugh force representatives into taking far-right positions and viewing compromise as a sign of weakness.
Limbaugh said this week that it’s not the case , at least not anymore.
“The true irony here is the Republicans are not listening to me. I don’t know who the Republicans are listening to outside of their consultants, but they’re not listening to me,” he said.
Limbaugh turned his focus to President Obama, saying the president “seems to think that I’m something more than relevant, seems to think that I am something more than an entertainer.”
He added that Obama only has himself to blame for his strained relationship with the GOP.
“I think that nobody is listening to Obama anymore. I don’t think he commands nearly the attention or the interest that he [did] and so what he’s doing is going back to the greatest hits,” Limbaugh said on his show Friday. “And like if you’re in a radio station losing audience, you’ll play hits … stop the new age stuff and go play the hits. Well he’s going back and he’s recycled this idea that Republicans are not cooperating with him because they’re afraid of what I’m going to say about him.”
But even if Limbaugh thinks his influence in the GOP is waning, his power in the media world remains strong. Despite reports that his deal with longtime carrier Cumulus would come to an end, the talk show host just signed a new three-year deal to remain on the air.
Rush Limbaugh will have a bit of a chance of scenery — leaving New York’s WABC for WOR this January — but he will remain on the airwaves, whether the GOP listens or not.